Redford Township Police warn of man claiming to be officer in scam of elderly residents

Sep. 27, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Redford Township Police are warning elderly residents to beware of a man scamming senior citizens out of large sums of money.

The department is investigating three separate incidents — one attempted scam and two successful scams — within the last three weeks.

A man called the residents and identified himself as a police officer, saying he needed help with an investigation, according to an alert issued by Redford Township Police today. The caller then told the residents to withdraw money and meet him at a specific location.

“This man told our senior that the banks were distributing counterfeit money and he asked them to participate in a ‘sting’ to catch them. The victim, our good-hearted citizen who wanted to help, went to a bank, withdrew a large sum of money, and gave it to the man so that he could ‘check the serial numbers on the bills’ and give it back to them. Not surprisingly, the money was not returned,” according to the alert. “This (despicable) predator has swindled another elderly resident out of their hard earned cash, this time gaining $7,000! The scam was the same. He made the call, the senior withdrew the cash, and he met them in a parking lot for the exchange.”

Police did not say how much money the swindler got during the first scam. In the unsuccessful attempt, the resident’s son learned about the request and stopped the resident from turning over the money.

The man is described as black and 30-40 years old, police said. He was not wearing a police uniform but did have a badge on his belt.

The alert tells residents that if they receive a call similar to the ones described to get a return number and hang up the phone.

“Please remember that any reputable police department will not ask anyone to participate in a ‘sting’ or plan to catch someone by randomly calling them up on the telephone nor will they ask you for any money,” the alert said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Redford Township Police Detective William Hand at 313-387-2578.